Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Tuesday, June 19, that USDA will fund 23 projects in 9 states as part of the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative.

State Conservationist Terry Cosby says Ohio will receive funding totaling $700,000 to be used in the Upper Wabash River Watershed in Mercer and a portion of Darke and Auglaize counties, which includes Grand Lake St. Marys.

“And you go into those areas and you try to do as much conservation as possible and try to make a difference in that small geographic area,” said Cosby.

According to the State Conservationist, any project eligible for Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) funding would be eligible for funds just announced.

“The deadline is June 29 and we’re hoping to get several folks in,” Cosby said. “This is a great partnership between us and a lot of our state and federal partners out there, they’re doing a good job of getting folks in and it’s helping solve a lot of the resource issues that we have in the State of Ohio.”

Information is available at local NRCS offices in the Upper Wabash River Watershed.

Audio: Terry Cosby, State Conservationist, Ohio (3:50 mp3)